Annie Proulx’s second novel,

, was published in 1994, and it remains her best known and most highly acclaimed novel to date. It won the National Book Award for Fiction, the

International Fiction Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was also made into a film. The book tells the story of Quoyle, an anti-hero who moves from New York to Newfoundland in search of his family roots and inner peace, and who against the odds does achieve some measure of success and happiness. Along the way, he meets a large cast of oddly-named eccentric characters, overcomes his fear of water and his crippling sense of insecurity, while also finding a job that he enjoys for the first time, not to mention tasting local delicacies like seal-flipper pie. Despite the…

1370 words

Citation: Varvogli, Aliki. "The Shipping News". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7724, accessed 24 April 2024.]

• View recommended reading for this article